I just purchase two 100L stainless steel tanks from Midwest Supplies and couldn't be more excited. I like the taller profile of these vs. the current, wider 100L tank I have.

Since I'm using new oak barrels for the first time this year, I need to pull the wine out sooner than normal so they don't soak up too much oak flavor. The idea is to rack them out of the barrel an into these tanks to finish the ageing process.

The 2010 harvest will also see these tanks in new ways. My intention is perform primary fermentation in my plastic brutes, then perform malolactic conversion in these tanks THEN transfer the wine into barrels when MLF complete.

This way, I'm not worrying about stirring lees in the barrel, scratching the insides and can simply add SO2 until its ready to bottle. Which I can bring these tanks back to make any final blends before bottling too.

I will likely make my own stands with heavy duty caster wheels so I can move them around as I need regardless whether they're filled or not.

On a another note, I recently got a professional bench-top pH meter and gobs of new lab equipment. Pictures to come!